CONVENTIONS OF FILM

POSTERS

Film posters are essentially a piece of advertising or promotion

for a film; Their purpose is to sell the film to you so you will want

to go and see it. Film posters are designed to be eye catching,

informative, attractive and generally visually stimulating.

Film posters are also designed to be almost a representation of

the entire film condensed into one image, so by seeing the poster,

you essentially are being given a representation of the genre and

general feel/themes of the film.

FILM POSTERS

Posters themselves are generally informative..

INFORMATION

..so film posters are no different. As well as forming the

prospective audience of the genre and possible main themes of

the film, usually other information will be included too, such as a

period for release or maybe a website associated with the film.

INFORMATION

Other important information that will usually be on a film poster is a director

or producers name. This is especially true if the person is well known. If the

director or producers name is not especially featured on the poster, the name

of the actor playing the main character/big actor in the film will be.

NAMES

Featuring the name of a big name actor/director/producer will be effective in

attracting audiences who are already fans of that actor/director/producer. For

example:

FILM POSTERS

The name ‘Jessica Alba’ is

featured in clear lettering

above the film title, so it is

very easy to see. As well as

her name being featured, the

poster itself is also a picture

of her, so an audience may

have seen a Jessica Alba film

before, recognised either her

name or her picture, and

gone to see ‘The Eye.’

Some posters may also feature a quote or a line from a review from someone

who has seen the film. The quote is usually from a respected institution in the

media industry, and has been put on the poster to be impressive. When

audiences see that this film being advertised received 5 stars from prestigious

film magazine ‘Empire,’ they are going to be more likely to invest in going to

see it.

QUOTE/REVIEW

A tagline will probably also feature. A tagline is almost like a slogan for the

film, which is a final effort in trying to grab the audience by giving away the

tone of the film.

TAGLINE